Film Review: Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf (2010)

Capturing the sadistic serial killer “The Wolf” was just the beginning for rookie cop Johnny Morgan. As he escorts the monster to his new home in the dark underground halls of Parker’s Asylum, bedlam ensues and Johnny along with a handful of civilians become players in a night of survival against the world’s most terrifying inmates

REVIEW:

Best Line: “We were friends, Mabel, but what do you expect?! You’re cooking half my staff for dinner!”

I totally called it. The big reveal. The identity of the Wolf. Called it like I was Babe Ruth calling his legendary if not mythical shot.

That’s not me bragging or anything (though I do excel in the “figuring it out” arena); anyone could have done it, really. The guilty party has the Wolf’s suit in his office and is intimate with how the bear trap jaws work.

And what a suit! You know, I was playing Sonic Unleashed on my PS3 a few months ago. Sonic is a hedgehog that runs super duper fast. Traditionally, the game’s demographic is not 40 year old Horror Movie review dudes, but I needed a break from all the killing I’d been doing in my other games. In the Unleashed incarnation of our speedy hero, he transforms into a Were Sonic when it gets dark out. Complete with Wolverine-esque claws, if memory serves. It is that version of Sonic, the LycanSonic, if you will, that I was reminded of when I saw the Wolf’s menacing costume in Medium Raw. Yes. A Lycan Sonic. Made of metal.

Medium Raw started off interestingly enough, but then it just kind of fizzled out for me. The parts I found particularly interesting all took place in the Asylum and involved the menagerie of crazies imprisoned there: the cannibal, the Jesus freak, the huge guy who was easily enraged by the color red (Dead Island fans, he was like a Thug), etc. So, the problem was that, after a pretty cool beginning, it took too long to get to the Asylum.

Once they got there though, and I’m not sure this was the intended effect, it got rather comical. The scene with cannibal lady, Mabel, was thoroughly entertaining. A naked dude running through the hallways with a Santa hat was funny, if not uncomfortable, to watch. The aforementioned “Thug”-like crazy was huge and missed his calling as a singer for a death metal band; his voice was uber growly. Not Christian Bale, Dark Knight, pseudo growly, but Gene Simmons, God of Thunder, scary growly.

And what’s not to like about John Rhys-Davies?

The sound production was acceptable. The camera shots were well done. I’ve seen worse acting endeavors. So what was wrong with the film? I can’t put my finger on it.

Like I said earlier, it seemed to get long in the tooth, so to speak, in the beginning. And when it turned to funny, it was a letdown. I like humor in my horror movies as much as the next guy, but this was more akin to not really committing to a direction with the film in general.

The director, Andrew Cymek is apparently a jack-of-all-trades, writing, directing, and starring in all of his efforts. This was no exception, so I applaud his work ethic. He looks like a cross between Jude Law and Draco Malfoy. (I know that his name is Tom Felton, but I just saw him in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and until I see him as a character I don’t want to kick in the face I will continue to call him Draco.)

Anyway, Mr. Cymek has done a number of different projects with the same ensemble of players that I have yet to see, specifically a collection of video films called Dark Rising. Brigette Kingsley is in those as well. My girl wonders if he kissed Miss Kingsley in his other films too. Good on ya, mate.

Medium Raw is an okay movie that took too long to become something. Maybe I’d have a different viewpoint if I was more familiar with Mr. Cymek’s canon of work. I could easily see how I may just have missed his charm.